haracter of the germinal disturbance and the
environmental disturbance. Rarely some of the organismal characters
resulting from such germinal modification may be in the direction of
greater adaptedness; usually they are neutral or in the direction of
utter unfitness.

But such effects are heritable, whatever their nature with respect to
adaptedness, and it becomes therefore very important to find out what
are the conditions that may thus disturb the normal structure of the
germ. Little more than a beginning has been made here and practically
nothing can be said definitely with reference to the human organism
in this respect. Enough is known, however, to make it clear that it is
only rarely indeed that external conditions can thus affect the
germinal structure. In most cases the effects of the incidence of
environment are purely bodily. A most fruitful field for eugenic
investigation is open here.

One of the first problems to be attacked from this point of view is
that of the racial (i. e., heritable) effects of such poisons as
alcohol. It is frequently said, for instance, that some of the effects
of alcoholism are the weakened, epileptic, or feeble-minded conditions
of the offspring, who are also particularly liable to disease and
infection. It can hardly be said that this is as yet thoroughly
demonstrated. On account of the importance of this question we might
call specific attention to some recent investigations of the problem
of the racial influence of alcohol. The effects of alcohol upon the
individual are fairly well known, although still a matter for debate
in some quarters. But this is not as important eugenically as the
possible effect upon the offspring of the use and abuse of alcohol by
the parents. An investigation has been carried on recently through
the Galton Laboratory for National Eugenics directed toward
ascertaining the precise relation between alcoholism in parents and
the height, weight, general health, and intelligence of their
children. It was found to be perfectly true that alcoholism and
tuberculosis show a high degree of association; but considering the
nondrinking members of the same community just the same high frequency
of tuberculosis was found. And the presence of alcoholism among
parents was found to be practically without effect upon the height and
weight of their offspring. "These results are certainly startling and
rather upset one's preconceived ideas, but it is perhaps a consolatio